Strength of the People
by Alice Prince
Summary: This story will explore more of Hotch's life after the team sets him up on a blind date with an agent from Counter Terrorism. This will also be a multi-case fic with personal chapters. Sequel to my story Defender of the People.
1. Prologue

NOTE: This is the sequel to "Defender of the People"! Just as a reminder, this takes place two years after the end of "Defender". And the rest of the recap, you'll read below. This is just a prequel, so it'll be a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but after this, the chapters will get longer. Enjoy~

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"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." -Helen Keller

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Hotch sat down in his study and opened his journal that he had kept since his return to the BAU after the Reaper returned. The journal had at first been a recommendation, but when Strauss had said whether or not he could come back, she'd made it a requirement. Hotch didn't like it at first, but as he began to do it more often, he could see the benefits and look past his initial dislike, be had begun to enjoy it.

_It's been a year and a half since Julia and I got married. I'm supremely grateful to the team for setting me up in the first place. It had been an awkward situation at first, but now I see why they did what they did._

Hotch paused for a moment, remembering the day.

It was a Monday, specifically, the Monday after his "meeting". Hotch called the team into the conference room a little earlier than usual. And to the great surprise of his team, did not yell at them.

"How many of you were involved in Friday's scheme?" He crossed his arms. When the whole team, including Reid, Morgan and Rossi raised their hands, Hotch was shocked. "All of you?" He looked into each of their eyes. "Contrary to what you all must be thinking, I am not mad. Maybe a little annoyed, but not mad."

"You're not?" asked Garcia.

"We thought for sure you'd be angry," said Morgan.

"But we did it for your own happiness," said JJ. "You've been so serious ever since Hayley died and we all thought you needed a bit of light in the dark."

"You needed something other than Jack that is pure and good," said Garcia.

"Well, I just wanted to say one thing: thank you," said Hotch.

_And at our wedding, they were so happy for the two of us; well, the three of us, counting Jack. During the six months we dated, Jack took a liking to Julia. And it was at her 38th birthday party that I proposed._

"Wait, there's one more present!" Hotch exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat. He picked up a huge box and set it on the table. "Go ahead; open it!"

Julia opened the box and inside was another box. She opened the box and inside was another box. She opened eight more boxes and as she opened each one, she set each box aside. Finally, she got to the last one. Just as she opened it, Hotch got on one knee.

_And now, with her help, I was able to fully recover from all the emotional scars that I've accumulated over the years, what with Foyet, Gideon and Elle leaving, Emily's "death" (which still haunts the team), Sandra's abduction,and everything else that's happened. Sure, the team helped me through, but it was Julia who sealed the deal. I can finally laugh and be happy again! And it feels great. Who would have thought an FBI agent in the Counter Terrorism division would have been able to do it?_

Hotch's phone rang. JJ sent him a text. _We have a case. Can you get down here as soon as you can?_

_I will. See you there._

Hotch got up and put his journal in his brief case. He got up, grabbed his brief case and left his study. He went downstairs to Julia and Jack eating breakfast. "I have to go in to work early, ok?"

"Ok, Daddy..." said Jack a little disappointedly.

"I promise, when I get home, the three us us will go out and see a movie. What about Captain America?" asked Hotch.

"Yay! I want to see that! Keith from class said it was a great movie!" said Jack excitedly.

"Well then, I'm sure we'll all enjoy it," said Hotch, kissing Jack on the head. He stood up and went into the kitchen. Julia kissed him. "You sure? You don't need to be in until eight. It's only seven thirty."

"I do, hun," said Hotch.

"At least take a bit of toast for the road," said Julia, handing him a piece. "And some orange juice." She handed him a glass. Hotch downed it quickly and kissed Julia and Jack once more before he headed out the door.

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"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress." -Bruce Barton

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NOTE: I know it's a very short chapter, but the next ones will naturally get longer. The team's first case in this one will be huge, so stay tuned~


	2. Baldilocks

NOTE: Let's hope I did enough pre-planning for this case. Anyway, I think you all will enjoy it. It showcases more skills of the team than I did in Defender. You'll just have to wait and see. But I hope you'll all enjoy it just the same.

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"The darkness that surrounds us cannot hurt us. It is the darkness in your own heart you should fear." - Silvetris

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Hotch walked into the bullpen just as the elevator doors opened one more time. He turned. "Good morning, Abner," said Hotch.

"Morning, sir," said Sandra. "Any idea what's so urgent about this case? JJ never asks us to come in early." Hotch opened the door for her. "Thank you."

"You have your hands full," said Hotch. "And no, I don't."

The woman in question was waiting for them in the bullpen. "Everyone else is here, guys. Let's go and I'll start the briefing."

All three agents rushed to the conference room. Hotch and Sandra sat down in the last two seats.

"Ok, now that we're all here, why is this case so urgent?" asked Rossi.

"The victims aren't US citizens." JJ put up two crime scene pictures. Both victims were in cars. "This is Shane Byrne on the left and Ardan Kelly on the right."

"Aren't those names Irish?" asked Garcia.

JJ nodded. "They all had visas."

"So once the media hears about this, there'll be a-" began Abby.

Morgan cut across her. "Once the media hears about this, the shit'll hit the fan."

"Exactly," said JJ.

"Where were the victims discovered?" asked Reid.

"One in Cambridge," said JJ, gesturing to Shane Byrne on the left, "and the other also in Cambridge." She motioned to Ardan Kelly.

"When and where were they shot?" asked Rossi.

"The file says that they were both shot in the temple," said Hotch, "outside their homes, in the driver's seat of their cars."

"When were they shot?" asked Sandra.

"The police in both cities think it was sometime in the early morning."

"How early?" asked Reid.

"They guessed about midnight to five, at the latest," said JJ.

"How far apart are the victims?" asked Morgan.

"One week. The first victim was found on a Wednesday morning and the second was found exactly a week after," said JJ.

"They're due for another murder tomorrow. Why weren't we called in sooner?" asked Hotch.

"They thought they could handle it themselves, I'm guessing," said Morgan.

JJ nodded. "That's what the police chief told me."

"Wheels up in twenty," said Hotch.

"That's only an eight minute flight, sir," said Garcia. "Are you sure you want to fly?"

"Yes," said Hotch. "I'd rather travel for eight minutes by plane than two or two and a half hours by car."

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They arrived at the Cambridge airport forty five minutes after that discussion. The Cambridge police sent a couple of cars for them, so the team was there practically within the hour. The team walked into the station with their police escort. A detective was waiting for them already.

"Detective Ellison, I'm Jennifer Jareau," said JJ, offering her hand. "We spoke on the phone."

"Thanks for coming down here so quickly. The chief's going to have my head if this case doesn't get solved quickly," said Detective Ellison with a smile.

"Do you have a conference room where we can get set up?" asked JJ.

"Set one aside just for you. Follow me."

They did. The conference room was spacious. The table was long, there was a white board and markers, and on the table, there was the case file. There was even some coffee on the table.

"Thank you very much, Detective," said JJ.

"No problem. I'll let you all do whatever you need to do. And if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask," said Detective Ellison.

"We will, thanks," said Hotch.

Detective Ellison left.

"All right, let's talk victimology," said Hotch.

"Well, both victims were Irish," said Abby, taking a sip of coffee.

"They have similar hair color," said Sandra. "Brown and black."

"Right, but hair and eye color is all over the place. Their eyes were hazel and blue," said Reid.

"How old were they?" asked Rossi.

"Byrne was thirty five, Kelly was thirty nine," said JJ.

"How long were they in the country?"

"Apparently, about a year apiece. They both moved here in June of 2010," said JJ.

"Judging from the angle of the shot, I'd say that they were both shot from behind," said Reid.

"So the Unsub would definitely have to be patient," said Morgan.

"Was there any damage to the cars?" asked Rossi. "Other than the blood splatter on the seat belts."

"No," said JJ. "So the Unsub would also have to know how to pick a lock."

"Any other damage to the bodies?" asked Reid.

"Medical examiner report indicates that there's nothing other than the gun shot wound," said Rossi, nose in the report.

"Did the victims have any family in the States?" asked Hotch.

"Let's ask Garcia. These records aren't as complete," said JJ, pulling out her phone and dialing.

"I was beginning to think that you forgot all about little ol' me, my lovlies!"

"Aww, come on, Baby Girl. I wouldn't be able to forget you that easily," said Morgan.

"Sugar, I know _you_ wouldn't. The rest of them, I'm not sure of," said Garcia. "Whatcha need?"

"Did either of the victims have family Stateside?" asked JJ.

Pause. "Looks like they lived all by their lonesome."

"Any indication that they knew each other?" asked Hotch.

Pause. "They shopped at different stores, went to different churches, lived in different areas, they worked across town. From what I can see, these guys didn't know each other at all," said Garcia.

"Any DNA found on-scene?" asked Abby.

"No, everything was as clean as a whistle," said JJ. "Everything was clean."

"So that means forensic counter measures," said Reid.

"This Unsub is very cautious," said Hotch. "And definitely discreet."

"Without a doubt. I also think merciful," said Sandra. "A single gun shot wound to the head is a quick death, especially if it was to the temple."

"This is odd," said Reid. "This Unsub is profiling as a disorganized, but his actions are clearly organized and efficient.."

"It _is_ odd," said Sandra, crossing her arms.

"I think this Unsub is mission oriented," said Morgan. "But based on what we've seen so far, I'd also say that-"

"Wait a sec, Morgan," said Sandra, struck by sudden inspiration. "What about criminal records in Ireland?"

"Garcia, you're still on, right?" asked JJ.

"Yes my doves, but I don't know how I'm going to get that information for you. That's an _international_ criminal record," said Garcia. "Unless we go through the CIA or Interpol, I don't know if we'll be able to get it. My power only reaches so far."

"I think we'll have better luck with Interpol. When they get in contact with Irish authorities, the Irish will most likely hand over the records much less begrudgingly," said Reid.

"JJ, I'd like you to get in contact with Interpol. Get their records," said Hotch.

"On it." JJ moved to a room in the back and picked up the phone.

Hotch and the rest of the team moved further up towards the front of the room and spoke in lower voices.

"What else can we do in the meantime, Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"There isn't much," he replied. "Until JJ can get us the records, we really have nothing to go on."

"What about their records while they were living here?" asked Sandra. "If they had a record in Ireland, they may have one here too."

Pause. "Nada. These guys were clean," said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia. We'll call you back later," said Sandra.

"Be safe, my lovelies! Garcia out."

They looked at the clock. Almost noon.

JJ motioned for Hotch. "They put me on hold, but it looks like I'll get the records."

"Good."

"Interpol also said that once they get intact with Irish authorities, it'll be a while before I can get the records," said JJ.

"When do they think you'll have them?" asked Hotch.

JJ sighed. "They said about nine. Apparently, Irish authorities are notorious for bad record keeping. Yes? Hello! Yes, I can wait until then. No, I don't mind." _We're only investigating murder here. _"Thank you very much, sir." She gave him the fax number. "And if you need to contact me, here's my cell number." She gave it to him. "Thanks again sir. Have a good day." JJ hung up, exasperatedly.

"Let's go get some lunch. It'll give us time to clear our heads," said Hotch.

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They were at a diner that was recommended to them by Detective Ellison, Twenty Four. It was a quaint little place and as the menu proclaimed, "family owned for over fifty years!"

A waitress came up to their big table. "What can I get for you, Sugars?"

The team all ordered and the waitress went away.

Hotch looked at Sandra. "Bacon? I thought you were Jewish."

"I am," said Sandra. "I only follow the basic rules of keeping Kosher and giving up bacon was something that I was _not_ prepared to do."

The team was still laughing when the waitress came back with their drinks. Mostly coffee, except for Abby, who ordered milk. "What? I like cow juice."

The team laughed again.

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They finally finished eating at about two and came back to the station. They went back into the conference room and sat down.

"Morgan, I'd like you and Abner to go to the ME and take a look at the bodies," said Hotch. "I know the report said there wasn't anything on them, but I'd still like you two to have a look."

"Got it, Hotch." Morgan stood up. "Come on, Tiny." He grinned.

"Ok, Baldilocks," said Sandra.

They left the room amid laughter and got into one of the government issued SUVs.

"Baldilocks? That's a new one," said Morgan.

"I had to come up with a new one," said Sandra. "Baldy and Crone-dome were getting old."

They laughed and soon pulled into the ME's office. They were shown where the bodies were quickly.

"Can you get the bullets out of their heads?" asked Sandra.

"We can try," said the ME, pulling out a long, thin and slightly lethal looking tool. "I was just about to when you two came in."

"We'll just go out of the room so you can concentrate," said Morgan.

Outside, Sandra asked, "Do you think it can be done?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," said Morgan. "These guys know what they're doing."

About fifteen minutes later, the ME called them back in. "I managed to get them out. They're each in separate bags on the table over there."

"Thank you very much, Ma'am," said Morgan, taking the bags. "We're going to go now."

"Go right ahead. Let me know if I can be of any more help."

"Will do," said Sandra. "Thanks again."

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Sandra and Morgan walked back into the conference room a little later. "Hotch, we got the bullets from the victims' heads," said Sandra. "We already sent them off for a ballistics test."

"Good work," said Hotch. "Now we play the waiting game."

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"We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth." -George Bernard Shaw

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NOTE: How do you like it so far?


	3. Queen of the Lovelies

NOTE: I know I just updated this the other day, but I couldn't help writing another. I hope you all enjoy the unfolding case!

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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." -Carl Sagan

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At nine o'clock on the nose, JJ got a call from Interpol. "Jareau here. Yes. Really? Thank you so much! Do you need the number again?" Pause. "Ok, thanks again!" She hung up. "They're faxing the records now."

"Good work and thank you, Interpol. Let's start going through the records," said Hotch.

A few minutes later, the team was sitting around the table scanning the records. Hotch struck gold. "Byrne was part of the IRA. What about Kelly?"

JJ shuffled through the records. "Yes he was."

The clock chimed midnight. The team jumped. "Good work here tonight. Let's go back to the hotel and get some sleep. We can come back to this in the morning."

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The clock on Aaron Hotchner's nightstand read 3:15am when his cell phone rang. He picked it up. "Hotchner. Yes? We'll be there."

He jumped out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Fully awake now, he proceeded to call the rest of his team. They all were to meet in the lobby in five minutes.

Ten minutes later, the team was gathered in the lobby.

"We have to get to this location," said Hotch, brandishing a slip of paper with directions and an address on it.

"What happened?" asked Sandra as the team made a dash for their SUVs.

"They found another body," said Hotch. "Same M.O."

"Anything change?" asked Morgan.

"They wouldn't say," said Hotch.

They climbed into the SUVs and rushed off to the crime scene.

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The killer knew that she had to get out of here. Now. _They're on to me._ She was still too close to the scene, so she took off her mask that she wore during surveillance and stuffed it in her bag. Then, out of a different pocket, she donned a sweater and continued walking away from the crime scene. _Where's my earring?_ As she walked, she rummaged through her bag. _It's not here. Maybe it's in the car._ She got three blocks away and there was the car that she had. She unlocked it, and climbed in. _It's not here. I can't go back now. I have to get out of here._ She drove away.

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The BAU arrived on scene shortly after. They climbed out of their SUVs, each stifling yawns. Detective Ellison saw them and came over.

"What's different about this crime scene?" asked Hotch.

"We found something that you all need to see." Detective Ellison motioned to the car, where CSI was taking pictures of the scene. Detective Ellison waved them away as he and the team approached and they scattered. "Take a look in the back seat."

Hotch and the rest of the team flanked the car and looked on the seat as instructed. It was an earring. A very feminine, yet austere, earring. It didn't seem all that grand to Sandra, but it sent shivers through everyone else, JJ in particular. "What's going on?" asked Sandra.

"That earring...I bought Emily something very similar for her birthday four years ago," said JJ, going slightly slackjaw.

"Are you sure?" asked Hotch.

JJ leaned in closer. "Yes, I'm sure."

They were all silent for a while.

"Let's go back to the station. We need to work on our profile," said Hotch. "We're delivering it tomorrow."

"Don't you mean later today?" asked Reid.

"Later today, then."

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The team went to get some coffee before they worked on the profile. It would help them wake up more. They sat down and got to work. When the morning shift arrived, the profile was ready to deliver. Right before they were going to leave the conference room, Detective Ellison came in. "The ballistics report is back." He handed the single sheet to JJ.

"It's a Sauer 38H pistol. I didn't think those were available in the US," said JJ. She called Garcia and put it on speaker.

"Quantico's Queen of the Lovely, at your service," came Garcia's lively chirp.

"Garcia, I need to know if the Sauer 38H pistol is available in the US," said JJ.

"Well, didn't we get right down to business?" JJ and the team heard some typing. "It is not. The Sauer is only available in it's native country of Germany and neighboring France. But it's been going out of fashion with German and French law enforcement for the last few years."

"This changes our profile," said Hotch. "Thanks, Garcia. We'll call later."

They all sat back down to integrate this new tidbit.

"So this Unsub is either German, French, or has visited those countries," said Rossi.

They talked for a while longer and went to deliver the profile.

"This type of Unsub is very unusual, in that usually mission oriented killers are usually male, and between the ages of thirty and forty. However, our Unsub is female. She'd still be in that same age bracket though," said Hotch.

"Female serial killers tend to murder men for material gain, are usually emotionally close to their victims, and generally need to have a relationship with a person before killing them. Relationship doesn't necessarily mean a romantic one- she could be a mother, a sister, a cousin, or even a friend," said Reid.

"But this one clearly isn't. These men lived simply, as we saw from taking a look at their apartments when we first arrived. The third victim is no exception," said Abby.

"Moreover, female serial killers kill covertly and they keep a low profile, which is what our Unsub is doing," said Morgan.

"But our Unsub is different. She profiles as a disorganized killer, but her actions point to organized, which makes us think that she has prior law enforcement experience," said Rossi, "a point only reinforced by the fact that she uses forensic counter measures."

"She is patient, discreet and above all, precise and cautious. She is in no way, shape or form psychotic, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous," said JJ.

"The fact that all three victims are Irish indicates that she has a past there. Maybe she lived there for a while; maybe a former lover or husband is from there," said Sandra, pausing for a moment. "Her weapon is a Sauer 38H pistol, only available in select locations in France and Germany, so she probably has lived in either country for a while, possibly for a year."

"How are you going to get French and German law enforcement to get you the records? They don't like American law enforcement very much," said an officer.

"I'll take care of that. I'm fluent in both French and German, so speaking their native tongue will help our case," said Sandra.

"Since her cool down period is one week, we think that once she kills a victim, she goes to survey her next victim, which will be an Irish man, between the ages of thirty five and forty who were members of the IRA," said Rossi. "We think she lies in wait for her victims, probably taking shelter in the back of their cars, waiting as long as needed."

"But since she observes them for that amount of time, she'll know their schedules," said Morgan. "And since the cars showed no signs of damage, other than the blood that dripped onto their seat belts, we'd say she knows how to pick the locks."

"The neighbors didn't report hearing any loud noises, and because the victims' cars are older models without alarm systems," said Reid, "and the murders were only committed early in the morning."

"If you increase police presence, we think she'll react one of two ways. Either she'll run and start killing again in a different location," said Morgan, "or she'll kill faster."

"We also think that she's following the investigation," said Abby. "It'll be a way to tell if she'll get caught or not, or rather, how close we are to catching her."

"The woman we're looking for is between the ages of thirty five and forty, and probably about five foot five to five foot eight, short enough to hide in the back seat without being discovered," said Rossi.

"Since she's lived in France and/or Germany, she's probably on the pale side, and probably thin as well," said Sandra. "She'll also be very well dressed, not out of place in a corporate board room."

"So be on the lookout for this woman," said Rossi. "Keep your patrols at the normal levels, but keep an extra eye out."

"Thank you," said Hotch. He led the team back into the conference room.

"So what do you think she'll do?" asked Rossi.

"I think she'll speed up," said Reid.

"Well, we can't know for sure," said Hotch. "JJ, I'd like you to prepare a press release."

"On it."

"Abner, I'd like you to get to work on getting those gun records from France and Germany," said Hotch.

"Got it."

JJ and Sandra left to do their tasks.

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"Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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NOTE: Next chapter will showcase Sandra's multilingual skills. I'd do it this chapter, but it's going on three in the morning right now. Until next time~!


	4. Facepalm

NOTE: Ok, I'm back to writing Criminal Minds. So, who else is STOKED for the new season? I know I am! Ok, fangirl moment over. This case is starting to wind down, and the ending might shock, it might not, but I hope you'll like it. Anyway, I just hope that it happens the way I imagined it would end. Anyway, I hope this has been an interesting case to read, just like it was an interesting case to write. This chapter will start off with Sandra's linguistic skills, and the English translations will follow beneath each bit of dialogue. And to anyone who's reading this from France or Germany, I'm sorry if the translations are off. I just used an online translator.

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"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven." -Tryon Edwards

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It had been a week until Sandra could talk to the German law enforcement. As they had predicted, their Unsub was accelerating her kills. What bothered the team was that she wasn't devolving in a way that serial killers usually did. Usually, their kills get progressively sloppier and eventually, they mess up and get caught. Not with this Unsub. She'd killed twice more in this week.

And so was the state of the investigation when Sandra was finally able to get on the phone with Germany.

"Hallo, mein Name ist Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner mit Behavioral Analysis der FBI-Abteilung für in Quantico, Virginia. Mein Team und ich sind der Untersuchung einer Reihe von Morden und die Waffe verwendet wird ist ein Sauer 38H Pistole. Könnte jemand sich mir die Waffenbesitz-Datensätze für das Land?" asked Sandra. _(Hello, my name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. My team and I are investigating a series of murders and the weapon being used is a Sauer 38H pistol. Could someone get me the gun ownership records for the country?) _She paused, listening to to the German police officer on the other end. "Ja, ich weiß es gibt eine Menge Leute, aber ich brauche nur Datensätze für Frauen im Alter zwischen 35 und vierzig."_ (Yes, I know it's a lot of people, but I only need records for females between the ages of thirty five and forty.) _Sandra and the German officer talked for another twenty minutes, and eventually, Sandra had successfully convinced the officer to get her the records. "Vielen Dank. Ich bin froh, dass wir in dieser Untersuchung mitarbeiten konnten. Ja, diese Aufzeichnungen sehr hilfreich. Mein Team bedankt sich bei Ihnen. Machen Sie einen schönen Rest des Tages!" _(Thank you very much, sir. I'm glad that we were able to cooperate in this investigation. Yes, these records will help a lot. My team thanks you. Have a great rest of your day!) _Sandra hung up the phone, sat down in a chair and sighed loudly.

"I have to say, you switch between German and English quite easily," said Rossi.

"Well, they _are_ both Romance languages."

"You sounded really angry just now," said Rossi dryly.

"How fed up would _you _be if you had to negotiate for almost a half hour with a German police officer who didn't very much like you?" said Sandra, crossing her arms. "And I still need to do it again."

"Fair point." Rossi patted her shoulder. "Good luck."

Hotch came back in. "Did you get the records?"

"They're faxing them over to Garcia now," said Sandra. "The Germans didn't seem to like me very much."

"And the French?" asked Hotch.

"Haven't called them yet. I need a break."

"Take a few minutes," said Hotch. "You look like you need it."

"And what about no inter team profiling didn't you get?" asked Sandra only half seriously.

"Your cheeks are wet. You've been crying. It doesn't take a profiler to notice that. Take a few minutes. Call your husband," said Hotch.

Sandra pushed her hair back and smiled. "I will, thanks. Where are the rest of the team?"

"They're at the two crime scenes and the morgue. Rossi and I are still here because...wait, why is Rossi back here? Go take a break." Hotch walked off to find the older profiler.

Sandra smiled and went outside. She pulled out her phone and as she started to dial Nicholas' number, she noticed the time. _He's in class. I'll call the baby sitter. _She dialed the teenager's cell phone.

She answered fairly quickly. "Ashley here."

"Ashley, it's Sandra."

"Oh, hi! How's the case going?"

"You know I can't tell you much." Sandra smiled.

"I know."

"I just need to talk to Aaron."

"Case getting to you?"

"No, German and French law enforcement is." Sandra sighed. "Can you please put him on the phone?"

"Of course. He's in his room." Ashley got up and walked up the stairs.

"What's he doing?"

"When I last checked on him about twenty minutes ago, he was building with his legos. I think he was working on a city."

Sandra smiled. "He loves building cities and destroying them again with his dinosaur toys."

"Hang on, I'm at his room." Ashley opened the door. "Aaron, your mom wants to talk to you."

Aaron got off the floor and took the phone from Ashley's outstretched hand. "Hi mommy!"

"Hi Aaron. Ashley told me you're building another city."

"Yep!" Aaron grinned. "Reptar's gonna come and tear it down in a few minutes."

"Ooooooh, Reptar does that a lot. Are you sure you should let him?"

"I dunno..."

"And you put all that work into building the city," said Sandra.

"I know, but Reptar also helps build a new city with me after."

"Well that's nice of him."

"And and I have lots of fun!"

"Well Aaron, I have to get back to work now, ok?"

"Ok, Mommy...are you going to be home soon?"

"I'm trying hard to catch the bad guy, honey," said Sandra. "I promise."

"'Kay."

"Could you give Ms. Ashley the phone back for me?"

"Sure." Aaron complied.

"He ok?" asked Sandra.

"A little depressed-seeming," said Ashley as she left the room. "Is everything all right?"

Sandra sighed. "You guessed right at the start. The case is rough."

"Stay safe, ok, Mrs. Abner?"

"I will. I've got to get back to work. But make sure that Aaron isn't sad when Nicholas gets home."

"I will."

"Thanks, Ashley."

"It's no trouble."

"Talk to you later."

"Later."

Sandra hung up and put the phone back in her pocket. She put both hands on her hips, tilted her head back and sighed heavily. A few minutes later, she headed back in to call the French authorities. Hotch and Rossi were still in the conference room. "Records here yet?"

"No, Garcia's on her lunch break for a few more minutes," said Hotch.

"Couldn't she just eat in her lair?" asked Sandra.

"She needs breathing room just like the rest of us," said Rossi.

Sandra nodded. "I'm going to call France in a minute."

"The police aren't happy that we're calling internationally," said Rossi.

Hotch rolled his eyes slightly. "Just tell them we'll pay them back."

"Will do."

"_If_ they ask," said Hotch.

Rossi laughed.

Sandra took a deep breath and called Interpol first. She explained her situation to the same Interpol agent she'd talked to earlier in the investigation.

"You need France now?" asked the incredulous agent.

"Yes."

"They're not going to be very cooperative."

"They will."

"How are you so confident?" asked the agent.

"Parce que je parle leur langue," said Sandra, crossing her arms. _(Because I speak their language.)_

"Point taken." The agent gave Sandra the number.

"Thanks a bunch, Agent."

"Glad I could help." They hung up.

"And now, to the point," murmured Sandra, vaguely recalling a scene from the Da Vinci Code, one of her favorite books, and laughing. She cleared her throat and dialed.

The officer who answered sounded young. "Bon après-midi, mon nom est directeur Maximilien Lesueur avec la station de police de Paris." _(Good afternoon, my name is Officer __Maximilien Lesueur__ with the Paris police station.) _

"Mon nom est de Surveillance Agent spécial Sandra Shea Abner avec le Federal Bureau of Investigations à Quantico, en Virginie. Je travaille sur une série de meurtres dans ma région et j'ai besoin de quelques informations," said Sandra. _(My name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner with the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Quantico, Virginia. I'm working on a string of murders in my area and I need some information.)_

"Quel genre d'information avez-vous besoin?" asked the officer. _(What kind of information do you need?)_

"J'ai besoin de dossiers de possession d'armes," said Sandra. _(I need records of gun ownership.) _

"Je ne peux pas vous aider celles-ci, que je suis juste un officier. Je n'ai pas accès aux dossiers. Mais je vais la main le téléphone à quelqu'un qui le fait. Tenez s'il vous plaît," said the officer, putting her on hold without waiting for a response. _(I can't get you those, as I'm just an officer. I don't have access to the records. But I'll hand the phone off to someone who does. Hold please.)_

Sandra sighed in exasperation as she waited.

"What's going on?" asked Rossi.

"Pas maintenant, Rossi," said Sandra, holding out one finger. _(Not right now, Rossi.)_ She waited for a while longer until a new voice came on.

"C'est le capitaine Alexandre Chevalier. Que voulez-vous?" asked the new voice curtly. _(This is Captain Alexandre Chevalier. What do you want?)_

"Mon nom est l'agent spécial de surveillance Sandra Shea Abner et je suis une enquête sur une série de meurtres dans ma région," said Sandra. _(My name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner and I'm investigating a string of murders in my area.)_

"Et alors?" _(And?)_

_I'm getting to that. _"Nos enquêtes ont montré que notre Unsub-_" (Our investigations showed that our Unsub-)_

"Qu'est-ce qu'un Unsub?" asked the captain. _(What's an Unsub?)_

"Unsub signifie 'objet inconnu'. C'est ce que nous appelons de nos suspects avant que nous savons qui il est." Sandra ran her hands through her hair again. _(Unsub stands for 'Unknown Subject'. It's what we call our suspects before we know who it is.)_

"D'accord." _(Ok.)_

"Et l'arme de l'Unsub est uniquement disponible dans votre pays et l'Allemagne aussi bien, et nous avons besoin des enregistrements pour tous qui possèdent l'arme, un pistolet Sauer 38H," said Sandra. _(And the Unsub's weapon is only available in your country and Germany as well, and we need the records for all who own the gun, a Sauer 38H pistol.)_

"Vous savez combien de personnes qui pourraient l'être?" asked the captain incredulously. _(You are aware of how many people that might be?)_

"Oui, je suis bien conscient." _(Yes, I am quite aware.) _Sandra drummed her fingers on her leg. "Mais je n'ai besoin que les dossiers pour les femmes entre les âges de trente-cinq et quarante ans." _(But I only need the records for women between the ages of thirty five and forty.)_

"À l'échelle nationale?" _(Nation-wide?)_

"Oui."

"Je vais vous donner les dossiers en quelques heures. Cela va prendre un certain temps à compiler. Mais nous sommes au milieu d'une grande enquête nous-mêmes, de l'agent. Alors s'il vous plaît ne pas appeler de nouveau. Je vais vous envoyer un email lorsque je leur ai faxé," said the captain. _(I'll get you the records in a few hours. This will take a while to compile. But we're in the middle of a big investigation ourselves, Agent. So please don't call again. I'll send you an email when I've faxed them.)_

Sandra gave him the number and her email. "Merci beaucoup, capitaine. Vous avez été d'une grande aide. Je vous souhaite bonne chance dans votre enquête." _(Thanks a lot, Captain. You've been a big help. I wish you luck in your investigation.)_

"Pour vous aussi. Bonne journée." The captain hung up. _(To you as well. Good day.)_

Sandra hung up and allowed herself a little celebration. Then she turned to Hotch. "They're going to get me the records in a few hours. The captain said that it'll take a while to compile all of the records and that he'll email me when he sends the fax."

"You've done really well, Abner," said Rossi.

"I think so too. Now let's get through these records," said Hotch, gesturing at the pile of records on the table.

"Oh, the German records arrived?" asked Sandra sitting down across from Hotch.

"That they did. And since you're the only one on the team who knows German and French..." said Hotch gesturing with his hands.

"Oh no..."

Hotch nodded. "I'll get someone to help you. But in the meantime, you're on your own."

Sandra face-palmed.

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"A different language is a different vision of life." - Federico Fellini

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NOTE: Lots of work for Sandra, right? XD She'll get it done.


	5. Garcia's Wonderful World

NOTE: Only a few more weeks until Criminal Minds season seven premieres! Let's hope this season is as epic as it sounds. Anyone else seen the trailer?

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"Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."  
>-St. Francis of Assisi<p>

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"We're done," said Hotch. "That was the last one." He glanced at the two officers. "You can go. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome, Agent Hotchner." said one. "Good luck." They walked out.

Rossi gestured at the table. "That helped a _lot. _Not even sarcastically either."

It had been several hours since the French police officers faxed over the gun ownership records. Coupled with the German records, it had taken the team roughly six hours to get through them all. In that time, the team came back from their respective crime scenes to find an increasingly irritated Sandra.

Sandra ran both hands through her hair. "Thank G-d that's over. I'm going to be thinking in French for quite some time. And beware, I may accidentally slip into French or German for a bit while I'm speaking."

Morgan waved it off and handed Sandra a cup of coffee. "Here you go. We thought you could use a cup."

Sandra took the cup from Morgan, took a long sip and set the cup down. "Thanks Morgan!"

"No problem. You looked like you needed the caffeine." He sat down. "So, what do we have?"

"As expected, the results were few are far between, which is a good thing," began Sandra. "Only a few women- three from France, two from Germany."

"Let's get Garcia on the line and see if any of them have anything to do with the US," said Reid.

Hotch called her and put the phone on speaker.

"Garcia's Wonderful World, may I fill your day with wonder?"

"I need you to work us some magic, Baby Girl," said Morgan.

"Please, sugar. I'm all about magic. Give me a hat and I'll pull a rabbit right out of it. Whatcha got?"

"We need to know if any of the following women have any ties to the US," said Hotch.

"Fire away, sweety. I'm ready to type."

"Didn't I tell you not to call me Sweety?"

Garcia sighed exaggeratedly. "Yes you did, Boss Man. But can I still work you a little magic?"

"You don't even need to ask. Here's the first name: Lenna Weibrecht," said Hotch.

"Nada."

"Katharina Eckener?"

"Nope."

"So she's not from Germany. Here's the first of our French women: Désirée Jospin."

"Zilch."

"Rosalie Domenche?"

"I'm coming up with nothing, my pretties."

"Last one: Léonne Rousseau."

The team held their breath.

"I have something. Says here that Léonne lived in-" Garcia stopped cold.

"Everything ok? What do you see?" asked Rossi.

"I-I-" stuttered Garcia.

"Send us the files."

"W-Will do."

"Are you ok?"

"You'll see when you get the files. Just sent them to your phones."

A minute later, there was a collective gasp.

Léonne Rousseau had intense brown eyes, high cheek bones, longish dark red hair and pale skin. But the most shocking part of it was-

"That's Prentiss!" exclaimed JJ. "Garcia, are you sure?"

"The records don't lie. Well, at least mine don't," said Garcia.

"Do you have a current residence?" asked Abby.

"Sure do- but it's in Paris."

"Check her bank account," said Rossi.

"She's been renting an apartment." Garcia gave the address.

"Thanks, Baby Girl. You're amazing," said Morgan, hanging up the phone.

Hotch ran out the door, motioning for the rest to follow. The team sprinted to the SUVs, armed with their Glocks and directions. The apartment wasn't far from the station and they arrived in no time. The team ran up the stairs and to Apartment 2I on the second floor. Hotch and Rossi flanked the doorway, Morgan went in front of the door and the rest of the team was clustered around the area. Hotch nodded and Morgan tried the door. It swung open.

The team entered and fanned out.

Every room was completely clear. That much was evident. The team gathered in the living room to discuss their next move. It wasn't until a few minutes had gone by that Reid took notice of the note and purple flower on the table.

"Hey guys, look at this," said Reid. "A lilac freesia." He pulled on a pair of gloves and picked up the note. "Listen to this." And he read it out loud.

"_Dear friends,_

_If you're reading this, then congrats. You found my home. I hoped you would._

_But that also means that I've been found out. So let me tell you exactly why I killed those men.. I was, and remain, on a mission to kill Ian Doyle and his organization once and for all. Once you catch me, and I know you will, I'll explain in full._

_JJ and Hotch, I'm sorry you've had to carry the burden. That too I will explain._

_I've found Doyle. And I have to move in now, or he'll get away. I will give you one hint, and that is as follows:_

_He is in a place where these flowers used to grow._

_Emily"_

Reid let his hand, still clutching the letter, fall to his side. "In a place where the lilac freesia used to grow..." He got a dreamy look on his face. "We need Garcia." He took out his phone and dialed.

"Did you find her?" asked Garcia urgently.

"No, but she left us a note. Garcia, where did the lilac freesia grow?" asked Reid.

"Used to?"

"Yes. Look for places that stopped selling them and then went out of business," said Hotch. "Anything!"

"I am at your beck and call," said Garcia. Pause. "There's a place in town that used to carry them! It was a florist who ran his business out of his house!" She gave them the address.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Hotch.

The team ran out the door and down to their SUVs. They climbed in and sped off to the house, lights flashing and siren blaring. They arrived within twenty minutes.

The team got out and gathered around Hotch.

"Everyone, pair up. The house doesn't look too small, and I don't want their to be any chances of any of us getting hurt. Abner, you're with me. The rest of you, grab a partner and search the house. Be as quiet as you can. We don't want them hearing us." Hotch and Sandra sprinted off toward the house. They reached the front door and tried the knob. It was unlocked, surprisingly.

Hotch and Sandra entered, clearing the living room off to the left. Hotch motioned for Sandra to follow him to another room on the right. Sandra nodded. They went to the right and there was nothing. Guns still outstretched, Hotch and Sandra froze as they heard a loud yell. Male. Coming from the basement. Hotch and Sandra (as well as Morgan and Rossi, who had finished searching elsewhere) opened the door and went down the stairs.

It was a long flight down. The stairs were long and winding.

CRASH. A grunt. A yell.

Sandra, Hotch, Rossi and Morgan sped up and finally made it to the bottom. Hotch silently cursed. It was a big basement. And it was cluttered. He motioned for Rossi and Sandra to go left. He and Morgan went right. As they rounded a corner, the sounds of a furious battle were heard.

More crashes, more grunts, an Irish accented curse.

And then, like a ghost from the past, came the voice that validated everything. "I beat you, Ian. You had no chance." And then a crash.

And a scream. "WHERE IS DECLAN!"

As Hotch and Morgan rounded the next corner, they saw Prentiss and Doyle fighting. Prentiss threw a punch and it caught Doyle on the side of the head. "Safe from you." Doyle fell on the ground. Prentiss kicked him.

"Emily!"

Prentiss turned at the sound of Morgan's voice. It was all that Doyle needed. He got up and turned her around to punch her. It connected, hard and true. Prentiss went down hard. Doyle knelt on her breast bone.

Prentiss gasped.

"I could kill you like this!" exclaimed Doyle.

Prentiss grunted, "But if you do, you won't ever see Declan again." She turned her head towards Hotch and Morgan. "This is my fight. Don't interfere." She turned back to Doyle and gasped. "The knowledge will be lost."

"And then what!"

"And Declan will be free from you!"

"He needs his father!"

"He can't be a pawn in your sick little game!" Prentiss turned around rapidly, so that Doyle straddled her back. She got up on her hands and knees. How, Hotch and Morgan didn't know. She threw Doyle off of her and put him in a head lock. Then she sprinted forward, forcing him to do the same. Prentiss ducked her head. They crashed into a wall. Doyle fell, his face a mess of blood. Prentiss knelt beside his body and felt for a pulse.

"He's dead."

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"Revelations come when you're in the thick of it, pitting yourself up against something larger than yourself." -Frank Langella

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NOTE: How was it? Next chapter, we'll deal with the team's reaction to Prentiss returning and the consequences.


	6. Prentiss' Reprise

NOTE: So, I wish everyone in the US a happy Labor Day (and to those kids starting school tomorrow: HA! I was done with that last June! But good luck.)! For everyone else, happy Monday! And for us CM fans, I wish us all a fantastic season premiere! Also, a side note. I also created Seaver's replacement. She will be making an appearance this chapter.

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"Observe a man's actions, scrutinize his motives; take note of the things that give him pleasure." -Confucious

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Prentiss stood up and immediately started to fall over. Morgan rushed forward and caught her while Hotch radioed, "We got her. We're in the basement and we're coming up. Meet us out front."

Morgan threw one of Prentiss' arms over his shoulder and Hotch did the same on her other side. They walked towards the stairs as she protested, "I can walk on my own!"

"I'm not saying you can't, Prentiss, but we're going to help you up," said Morgan, perhaps a little too forcefully.

Hotch shot him a look and Morgan was silenced. As the three made their way up the stairs, Rossi and Sandra found their way over and walked behind Morgan, Prentiss and Hotch, who moved up the stairs almost sideways.

They got to the front lawn, where the team was already gathered. Hotch called for an ambulance. The team followed the ambulance to the hospital. Prentiss was taken into an examining room. The team went to the waiting room.

"Agent Hotchner," said a familiar voice. The whole team turned.

As was customary with high profile cases like this one, Strauss had been keeping tabs on the investigation. She was at the hospital.

"Yes, Chief Strauss?"

"I would like you and your team to prepare a press conference about this case," she said, "and I'd like Agent Prentiss to be a part of it."

"She's still a federal agent?" asked Reid.

"Her death was staged," said Strauss, "as part of a joint FBI-CIA sting operation."

The team, save for JJ and Hotch, looked incredulously at Strauss.

"W-What?" asked Garcia, just joining them.

"It's true," said Hotch.

"The less people who knew about it, the better," said JJ.

"You two were in on it?" asked Reid.

Strauss nodded. "It wasn't supposed to take this long. We had counted on a year at the most."

"And what changed?" asked Rossi, his calm exterior demeanor not showing most of his pain.

"Doyle's organization proved more difficult to catch than we anticipated." Strauss crossed her arms.

"But I'm just glad it's over." Everyone turned around. It was Prentiss, coming out of the hall way. "The doctor cleared me to leave." Her eyes swept the room. Everyone gaped at her as if they couldn't believe she was real.

There was a long pause. Strauss cleared her throat. "I think we should all go back to the BAU so we can fill you all in on the situation. Agents Prentiss, Hotchner and Jareau, come with me. The rest of you will meet us there." She beckoned with her hands and the three followed her out of the building.

There was another silence, this one seemingly wounded.

Rossi stood up. "Come on, guys."

Garcia looked at him with sad eyes. "How can you not care?"

Rossi turned to face her. "Of course I care. How could you think I don't?"

Garcia stood. "Just the way you're not reacting to any of this!" She glared at him.

"I understand what you're saying, Penelope," said Rossi, "but different people have different ways to cope with rage or sadness."

"I know, but people can still _react! _We thought she was dead! And we thought that for two years!" Garcia began to tear up. "Show some emotion for once in your life!"

Rossi's eyebrows contracted. "Is that what you think of me?" he asked quietly.

"Until you give me a reason to change my opinion, then yes!"

Morgan stood up and hugged Garcia. "It's gonna be ok."

She pushed him away. "Not right now, Derek. I'll meet you guys there. Remember, I have Esther with me." And without further ado, she stalked out of the room, leaving Reid, Morgan, Rossi, Sandra, and Abby there.

The rest of them stood up and silently split into two groups, each heading for one of the government SUVs that brought them there.

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It had been more than two years since any of them had actually seen Emily Prentiss in the flesh. And everyone remembered her in their own way. Garcia had been stopping by her picture on the Wall of Fallen Heroes every day, before she came into the office and when she was leaving as well. They even all celebrated her birthday every year. But it seemed all of that was in vain.

As Prentiss told her story, the mood in the room got more and more tense. Morgan refused to sit down, choosing to cross his arms and lean against the wall.

"I'm sorry for the deception, but it needed to be done," said Prentiss. "Like Chief Strauss said, the operation wasn't expected to last more than six months."

There was a knock.

"Come in," said Hotch.

The door opened and a shortish brunette with green eyes walked in.

"Agent Grey, please sit down," said Strauss.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Victoria.

Hotch turned to Prentiss. "Is is Agent Victoria Grey, who replaced Agent Seaver."

Prentiss nodded and smiled. "It's nice to meet you." They shook hands.

Morgan regarded the whole display with a look of aversion plastered all over his face.

"Morgan," began Prentiss, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Morgan yanked his arm away from her. "We all thought you were dead, Prentiss. Dead! And then you come in here, thinking it'll magically be ok again? I think not." He stormed out of the room, almost slamming the door shut on his way out.

Prentiss made to go after him, but Hotch stopped her. "Leave him be."

"He needs time to go and lick his wounds," said Garcia.

Prentiss seemed to want to disobey Hotch and go after Morgan, but decided against it. She sat down where she'd been before. Strauss continued to stand.

"So you all know what happened," said Strauss after a while. "But Agent Morgan needs to hear this next part."

"I'll go get him," said Garcia.

Strauss nodded. "Do it quickly."

"I'll try, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Agent Garcia."

Garcia nodded to Strauss and walked out of the room, taking care to stop by her office and grab her purse. _If I were Morgan, where would I go? Maybe his office?_ Garcia headed there. "Nnnope." _Maybe his car?_ She headed to the elevators and pressed the button for the ground floor. She walked out the doors and to Morgan's favorite parking spot. And sure enough, there he was. He was sitting in his car, arms folded and resting on his steering wheel, head on top.

Garcia walked over and knocked on his window. He looked up and pointed to the seat next to him. Garcia nodded and walked to the passenger door, opened it and sat down.

"Derek, can you come back up with me?" asked Garcia.

"What do you need?" asked Morgan, sighing.

"You know how the Dragon Lady gets."

He leaned back, rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "Not her again. I'm just glad she didn't say much before."

"I know you are," said Garcia with a smile. She reached into her bag and pulled out one of her cupcakes that she brought with. "Do you want it?"

Morgan eyed the cupcake. "What kind is it?"

"Your favorite," taunted Garcia.

"Which favorite? Woman, you know I love your baking."

"Sweet Cheeks, you love everything about me!"

"You know it!"

"It's fudge chocolate with mint chunks," said Garcia.

"Oh, _that _favorite!"

Garcia nodded. "And I'll only give it to you if you promise to come upstairs with me."

Morgan groaned in mock distress. "But mooooom! Do I have to?"

"Yes," said Garcia matter of factly.

He sighed again.

"But there's one thing you need to realize first," said Garcia.

"And what's that?"

"That Emily probably didn't have any choice in the matter. If she had her way, it probably wouldn't have turned out like it did," said Garcia.

"Not right now. I don't want to talk about her," said Morgan.

"But Strauss needs you up there."

"I know she does. But what Prentiss did was just..."

"I know, but you'll have to get past it," said Garcia. "If not now, then soon."

Morgan took a deep breath. "I know. And I'll go up with you, but I want you to know that it will be a long time before I can trust that woman again."

Garcia nodded.

"Once earned and lost, my trust is hard to get back," said Morgan.

Garcia nodded again.

"And you know that as well as anyone, Penelope."

"I do."

They remained silent for a while.

"We should go back up," said Garcia.

"We _should..._but do we want to?" asked Morgan only slightly sarcastically.

Garcia laughed. "Not really. But let's go anyway."

Morgan sighed and paused. "Ok. But first, give me my cupcake!"

"When we're on the elevator."

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"You think she'll get him to come back?" asked JJ.

"Do you even need to ask?" asked Hotch. "You know how they are."

Sandra nodded. "We do. We've just never seen Morgan flip out like that."

Hotch raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Ok, on cases yes," said Sandra.

The door opened and in came Morgan and Garcia. Garcia sat where she'd been before and Morgan stood behind Garcia, arms still crossed, but no longer looking quite so pissed.

Strauss gazed over the BAU as if to make sure that they were all there. They were. "This is what's happening. As I said, the sting operation that Agent Prentiss was a part of, while it required her to pretend to die, was an FBI operation."

She paused. The team nodded.

"And that means that she's still a federal agent."

Another pause. More nods.

"So that means, that if she so chooses, Agent Prentiss can return to the BAU."

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"Originality consists in returning to the origin." -Antonio Gaudi

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NOTE: Opinions? Did I get Morgan's reaction right?


	7. And That's the Short Version?

NOTE: This is probably very different than what CBS has planned for Prentiss, so this is definitely an AU. Although it may be closer than other fics I've read about it. Oh well. I still hope you guys enjoy it!

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"The thing about family disasters is that you never have to wait long before the next one puts the previous one into perspective." -Robert Brault

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Not so long after that, Strauss' debriefing ended and the Dragon Lady left the BAU team in a decidedly strained silence.

"JJ, we can have the press conference on Monday," said Hotch. "I'll let Strauss know."

JJ nodded and the room was plunged into another strained silence.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Garcia quietly.

"Well, I'm coming back to the BAU," said Prentiss, "but before that, I don't know."

"Do you have a place to stay?" asked Victoria.

"I may or may not. Not even my mom knows about the sting, and I'd prefer not to stay with her," said Prentiss cheekily.

"I have an extra room," said Sandra. "I'm sure Nicholas wouldn't mind if you stayed with us for a while."

Prentiss smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Thanks a bunch."

Sandra smiled in return. "It's not trouble. I'll be right back." Sandra left the room and pulled out her phone, dialing Nicholas on the way. It rang and he picked up.

"Professor Abner."

"This'll take too long to explain over the phone, hun."

"What happened?"

"I'll have to explain when I get home. But there'll be a press conference about it soon anyway, so you'll find out from there."

"But I want to hear it from you," said Nicholas.

Sandra sighed. "It'll take a while to explain on the phone," she insisted.

"Really?"

"Most likely."

"Ok."

"But do you mind if someone stays with us for a while?"

"Who?"

"That's part of what I need to explain."

"One of your friends?"

"You could say that."

"Ok hun, I'm all right with it. Are you getting off work anytime soon?"

"Should be. Why?"

"I'm going to have to stay a little later at work. Department meeting," said Nicholas with a sigh. "You know how my boss can get."

"I do."

"So can you pick up the kids from Ashley's house?"

"Can do."

"I should be home at about seven or eight."

"I'll see you then," said Sandra.

"I love you."

"Love you too," said Sandra with a smile. "See you when you get home."

"See you." He hung up and Sandra, stuffing her phone in her pocket, came back to the conference room. All heads turned to her. "Prentiss, you can have our guest room."

"Thanks so much!"

"It's no trouble."

"Well, I think we all need an early day," said Hotch. "Let's be back here on Monday morning at eight. Have a good weekend, people."

Sandra beckoned at Prentiss. "Do you have a bag?"

"No."

Sandra turned to face the conference room. "We'll see you Monday."

They left before anyone could say anything else.

Prentiss and Sandra took the elevator down. After a while, Sandra asked, "We put your stuff in a storage unit. We can stop by there to get you some clothes."

Prentiss nodded.

"Also, I have to pick up my kids from their babysitter," continued Sandra.

"Ok."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, actually."

"We'll have an early dinner then, when we get back to the house. How do you feel about pizza?"

Prentiss smiled. "I haven't had it in so long..."

"I'm not the cook in the family. My husband is."

"Really?"

Sandra nodded and they rode the rest of the way down in silence.

"I have to ask."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to visit your mom?"

Prentiss cringed. "Not especially."

"At least call her."

"Not right now."

"Ok." The elevator reached the bottom floor. The doors opened. "Let's go get you some clothes first."

"That sounds wonderful."

Sandra nodded and led Prentiss to her car, a dark blue Mustang convertible. Prentiss looked at it in surprise. "I never thought you liked this type of car."

Sandra nodded. "I've always had a thing for speed." She opened the passenger door for Prentiss.

"You didn't need to do that," said Prentiss.

"I know." Sandra went around to the driver's side door, opened it and slid in. "Want to put the top down until we get the kids?"

Prentiss smiled. "Sure."

"Unlock that clasp for me," said Sandra, doing the same on her side. Prentiss unlocked it. Sandra pressed a button and the top opened. Sandra backed out and got on the freeway. Soon, they were at the storage unit. She unlocked the combination lock and handed a few boxes to Prentiss. "These are them. I have hangers at my house for you." Sandra moved out of the unit. "Before we leave, I need to call my babysitter."

Prentiss nodded.

Sandra pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Ashley here."

"Ashley, it's Sandra. Nicholas won't be coming to pick the kids up. But I'm on my way now. I should be there in about twenty minutes."

"Ok, I'll see you then."

"See you." Sandra hung up and stowed her phone in her pocket. "Let's go."

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Sandra pulled up to Ashley's house soon after the call. She got out of the car and motioned for Prentiss to follow. "Come on!"

"Ok." Prentiss got out of the car and followed Sandra to the front door.

Sandra rang the bell and not a minute later, Ashley answered it.

"Hi Ashley."

"Hi Mrs. Abner," said Ashley with a smile.

"Ashley, how many times must I ask you to call me Sandra?"

"At least once more, Mrs. Abner, as always."

Sandra laughed. "And must we quote Pirates every time I come to pick the kids up?"

Ashley smiled in return. "We do need to find another movie to quote. Come in! The kids are watching a movie."

"Oh, which one?"

"Lion King."

"Always a classic! I love that movie!"

Ashley led Sandra and Prentiss into the living room. "Ashley, Aaron, your mom is here!"

Ashley and Aaron looked up from the screen and their faces lit up. "Mommy!" Sandra knelt down and they ran straight into her, nearly knocking her over. "Oof! So what did you two do today?"

"Color!" grinned Ashley.

"You colored! I'm jealous! That sounds like fun!"

Aaron looked up at Prentiss. "Mommy, who is that?"

"Don't you remember my friend Emily?"

Aaron's face lit up again. "Emmy!" Aaron hugged her legs.

"It's great to see you too!"

"Where were you?" asked Aaron.

"Emily was away fighting bad guys. But be careful, she's not feeling too well," said Sandra.

Aaron released his hold on her. "Sorry, Emmy."

"It's all right, little man."

Sandra picked Ashley up and turned to (babysitter) Ashley. "I can't pay you right now. Nicholas has your money."

Ashley smiled. "That's ok."

"He'll give it to you next time."

"Sounds good. You have a good day."

"You too!" Sandra looked at Aaron. "Hold Emily's hand, ok?" Sandra adjusted her grip on Ashley.

"Ok, Mommy." Aaron stretched his hand out to Emily's and held onto it tightly.

Once the kids were safely buckled into place, Sandra got into the driver's seat. "Kids, Daddy will be home late, so we're going to go out and get pizza."

Aaron and Ashley cheered from the back seat.

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A half hour later, Prentiss, Sandra, Ashley and Aaron were all seated around the Abners' dinner table. "Ok, kids, what prayer do we say for pizza?"

"Hamotzi!" exclaimed Aaron, eager to eat.

"Aaron, would you like to say it?" asked Sandra.

Aaron nodded. "We just learned it yesterday at Torah school!" He coughed into his elbow. "Hamotzi lechem minh ha'aretz. We give thanks to God for bread, let our voices rise together, as our prayer is humbly said! Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam..." Aaron paused, unsure of the next words. "Hamotzi lechem minh ha'aretz," he finished proudly. "Amen!"

"Amen," came the echo from the rest of the table.

"Let's eat!"

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Nicholas came in just as they were eating through their second pizza.

"Kids, let's save some for Daddy," said Sandra, just as Nicholas walked in.

"What're we eating?" asked Nicholas, startling everyone. He looked at Prentiss and recoiled in shock. "E-Emily?"

She nodded.

"And that's what I need to explain," said Sandra.

"Ok, but let me eat first. I'm starving!" Nicholas said, seemingly over the initial shock. He went into the kitchen and grabbed three slices.

After dinner, the kids were put to bed.

"Mommy, read us a bedtime story!" pleaded Aaron.

"Pwease!" added Ashley. She padded to their book shelf and pulled out a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"Are you sure, Ashley?" asked Sandra.

She nodded vigorously.

"All right." Sandra turned to the first story, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot. Halfway through the story, both kids were fast asleep. Sandra kissed each of them good night and replaced the book on their shelf.

She went back downstairs and sat down with Prentiss and Nicholas on the couch.

"Ok, now I'd like an explanation," said Nicholas, confused.

"Do you want the long version or the short one?"

"I don't care."

"You remember the funeral?" asked Sandra.

"Yeah. Your mother didn't even go," said Nicholas gesturing to Prentiss.

"Do you remember anything about Ian Doyle?" asked Prentiss.

"I read a little bit online. Sandra wouldn't tell me anything that wasn't public record."

"Well, the short version is this. Doyle was the leader of a breakaway faction of the IRA and in my Interpol days, I was on a team chosen to try and take down his organization." Nicholas nodded. "We succeeded, in part. Doyle was put in jail in North Korea, I think," said Prentiss. "But not before finding out that I was an agent working against him."

"He escaped and two years later, came to the US to take revenge on her," said Sandra.

"This all took place two years ago," said Prentiss.

"We tracked him down in DC, and went after him to try and rescue her," said Sandra. "But we got there too late."

"Doyle escaped, and I was dying. Morgan found me and I told him to let me go," said Prentiss.

"What happened then?" asked Nicholas.

"I was in the hospital, and had just gotten out of surgery," said Prentiss, "and was told that I had to fake my death and go undercover to try and kill his organization once and for all. So JJ met me at a cafe in Paris, gave me some money from three different European countries, France, Germany and England, and left." Nicholas nodded. "After that, I spent two years tracking down Doyle and his organization in Europe, and found that they were still operating in the US. So I took a plane there, using one of the identities JJ gave me."

"When was that?" asked Nicholas.

"Recently. As in last month," replied Prentiss. "And at last found Doyle and took care of him."

"And he's..." Nicholas gestured with his hands.

Prentiss nodded.

"And _that's_ the short version?" asked Nicholas.

Sandra and Prentiss nodded.

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"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." -Flora Whittemore

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NOTE: Was it ok? I mean, really?


	8. In House

NOTE: This season is shaping up to be a great one! Anyone else think so or otherwise?

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"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." -William Shakespeare

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Everyone was in bed, and Sandra was just about to do the same. She pulled off her work clothes and pulled on the baggy t-shirt and pajama shorts she slept in.

"This has to be bothering you," said Nicholas after a minute.

"It does."

"Then why aren't you showing it at all?"

"I'm still trying to process it all." Sandra climbed into bed and Nicholas drew her close.

"I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now," said Nicholas, "but I want to help you. Want to talk about it?"

Sandra nodded, the emotional stress of the day finally beginning to catch up to her. "We all thought she was dead for two years! And then to come back one day and see that she didn't die after all..." Sandra tried to hold the tears back. "And then to also find out that Hotch and JJ lied to us all...I'm going to find myself second guessing everything they say for a while."

"I don't blame you, Love," said Nicholas.

"And I know she did what was needed to protect the team, but I still think she could have let us in on the plan."

"I don't think she could. A decision like that probably was made by those in charge," said Nicholas. "I wouldn't be surprised if Emily didn't have any choice in the matter." Nicholas hugged her tightly against his broad chest as Sandra succumbed to her need to cry. "Shhhhh, Love. It'll be all right."

"I hope it will," said Sandra.

"It will. You've just got to give it time," said Nicholas. "You know what they say: time heals all wounds."

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Monday finally rolled around. After the weekend, Sandra had forgotten all about the press conference that was due this morning. Sandra walked downstairs for breakfast and was at once struck by the scent of Nicholas' breakfast specialty: strawberry pancakes. Sandra practically floated downstairs, like in cartoons.

Sandra ate quickly, as did Prentiss, and the two were soon ready to leave. Sandra kissed both kids on the cheek.

"Stay safe," said Nicholas.

"I will," said Sandra, kissing him. "You too. Come on, Prentiss."

The two agents left with another word, climbed in to Sandra's car and drove off in silence, until, "So we have that press conference today?"

Sandra nodded. "They're going to be at their worst."

Prentiss nodded. "Well, then we'll have to be too."

"That we will."

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"The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit is proud to announce that a threat to international security, Ian Doyle, has been neutralized," said JJ.

At once, she was bombarded by questions.

"What do you mean, neutralized?" asked a reporter from a local paper.

"Ian Doyle was pronounced dead on Saturday."

More shouted questions.

"Then who killed him?" asked an MSNBC reporter.

Prentiss stepped up to the podium. "I did, but it was by no means a solo job." Prentiss gestured around at the team. "This team was a part of a joint FBI-CIA sting operation to neutralize Ian Doyle."

"And how did that work?" shouted a reporter over the din.

JJ stepped back in. "I'm sorry, but that is classified information. The version that will become public record shortly is that Agent Prentiss staged her death in order to go under cover. There will be no more questions."

The team filed out neatly, ignoring the shouted questions. At last, they were in the pseudo-sanctity of the conference room, where Garcia came in with their newest case. She put up a group of pictures, all showing men in white coats. "These doctors were between the ages of forty five and fifty five," said Garcia, pressing the button, "and were killed in the last week and a half."

The team looked at the pictures. The doctors were all wearing white lab coats, and were posed like they were taking an oath.

"Where are they being killed?" asked Rossi.

"In Plainsboro, New Jersey. It's a twenty minute drive from Princeton and a twenty three minute flight from here," said Garcia. "The M.O. was the same in all cases- suffocation. The victims were all found without their ids and their only identification was the name on their coats. They were also found with a plastic bag over their head."

"That's a very personal death," said Victoria.

"So someone must have a serious grudge against doctors," said Garcia.

"Where did each of these doctors work?" asked Sandra.

"At the same hospital," said Garcia. "Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital."

Everyone nodded.

"Wheels up in twenty," said Hotch.

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"I want Abner and Reid to head to the hospital. Talk to whoever's in charge and learn what you can about the victims and their work habits," said Hotch. "Rossi will go to the morgue. JJ and I will go to the station and establish our investigation. Glazer, Prentiss, Morgan and Grey will each go to the victims' houses." The team nodded. "For now, let's talk victimology."

"All were doctors at the same hospital," said JJ. "Garcia, what were their titles?"

"They were all heads of departments- Cardiology, Radiology, Neurology and Surgery," said Garcia.

"What other departments are there?" asked Victoria.

"There's the Dean of Medicine, Oncology, Anesthesiology, Diagnostics, the pharmacy and the ER," said Garcia.

"Ok, Abner and Reid, you know who to talk to- the Dean of Medicine," said Hotch.

"Got it," said Sandra as Reid nodded.

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Reid and Sandra walked into Princeton Plainsboro to the desk. Both showed their credentialss. "We're Agents Abner and Reid with the FBI," said Sandra. "We'd like to speak to the Dean of Medicine."

The nurse at the desk nodded and paged someone. "She's on her way to her office."

"Where is it?" asked Reid.

"Go into the clinic, and it's down the hall on your left," said the nurse.

"Thank you very much," said Sandra.

She and Reid followed the nurse's instruction. When they came to the end of the hall, they found double office doors, one open, one closed. On the closed one, there was a plaque that read "Dr. Lisa Cuddy" and below that, another one read "Dean of Medicine". Reid and Sandra exchanged significant glances and knocked.

"Come in," came a voice from within.

Reid and Sandra walked in.

"Please, sit down." Cuddy gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. She shook both of their hands.

Reid and Sandra showed Cuddy their credentials. "Agents Reid and Abner, FBI."

"What can I do for you, Agents?" asked Cuddy.

"We're investigating a string of murders-" Sandra was cut off by a sharp tap on the back of her chair. It sounded like wood on wood. "What the..." She turned around in her seat, only to see a man standing there. He wore a sport coat over a t-shirt, had stubble, hair that made it look like he just rolled out of bed and startlingly blue eyes.

"So, Cuddles. You've brought the feds in?" asked the man, sounding sarcastic and reminding Sandra strongly of Peeves the Poltergeist from the Harry Potter books.

"Go, House," said Cuddy, looking as though she dealt with this man all day long. "Don't you have a case?"

"No interesting ones crossed my desk, Cuddles."

"Will you stop calling me that!"

House put on a fake look of contemplation. "Hmm..." He paused. His face suddenly lit up, seemingly coming to a decision. "Nope. But really, what _are_ the feds doing here?"

Cuddy stood up, her face set in a glare. She slammed one hand on the table, and pointed out the door with the other. "Out!"

"Ok."

Cuddy looked momentarily dumbfounded. "You're not going to argue?"

"Maybe later. Remember Cuddles, as well as I know the line, I always stop just short of causing real mayhem. Best not to do anything with these two here," said House, gesturing to Reid and Sandra with his cane. "I'll be back in..." House looked at his watch, "fifteen minutes." As he left, House shut the door.

Sandra turned back to Cuddy, who had just sat back down. "Is he..." began Sandra, gesturing behind her.

Cuddy nodded. "Yeah, he's always like that. Don't worry though, he works here."

"What does he do?" asked Reid.

"He's the Director of Diagnostic Medicine, if you can believe that," said Cuddy.

"Is he Doctor Gregory House?" asked Reid.

"He is," said Cuddy.

"You know him?" asked Sandra of Reid.

"He's been in the news a few times," said Reid. "He also spoke at a conference I was at."

"Now that he's out of the way," began Cuddy, "what can I do for you?"

"Like I was saying, we're investigating the murders of doctors in the area and all four victims worked here," said Reid.

"What?"

"All four victims worked here," said Reid. "Doctors Hannon, Nowak, Berman and Fisk."

"But they're..." Cuddy paused, stunned by this news. "I thought they were on vacation!"

"Can you think of any reason why someone would want to kill them?" asked Sandra.

"I-I can't really think much at all right now," said Cuddy breathlessly. She took a couple of cleansing breaths. "What should we do?"

"For now, the FBI asks that you stress hyper vigilance, and for all doctors to be on the look out," said Reid. "You shouldn't tell them a whole lot about it. For instance, don't call attention to the fact that Doctors Hannon, Nowak, Berman and Fisk aren't here."

"It would cause a panic, which is something that this Unsub lives for," said Sandra. "So for now, keep this...I don't want to say a secret, but keep this a secret."

Cuddy nodded numbly. "I-I will." She leaned her head in her hands.

"In the meantime, here's my card," said Sandra. "We'll be in touch."

"You'll keep me up to date with the investigation?" asked Cuddy.

"As up to date as we can, Doctor," said Reid.

There was another loud rap on the door.

"Come in," called Cuddy.

House walked back in. "Hey Cuddles, I just wanted to let Patty and Selma know that I'm leaving. And I'm taking Wilson with me."

"Fine. Just go," said Cuddy.

"No arguments?"

"Just go, House."

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NOTE: So, what did you all think? How are the characterizations? I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. School's gotten busy and I moved, but now that things have quieted down a bit, I hope I'll be able to update more often.


	9. On The Rocks

NOTE: Yep, I'm doing a House crossover fic. I couldn't resist. The idea's been sitting in the back of my head for a while now- the idea of House meeting the BAU. This is actually version three of this case...originally, it wasn't a case, but Reid went to House to get a diagnosis for his headaches, or something like that. But either way, I'm looking forward to writing House. It'll be quite the challenge. I hope you enjoy it as well. And on a side note, this takes place before the season seven finale of House- so Cuddy hasn't left yet, but she's been thinking about it.

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"One good reason to only maintain a small circle of friends is that three out of four murders are committed by people who know the victim." -George Carlin

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"House, I don't want to be here."

"Aw, come on!" The music blared, and lights flashed. House and Wilson sat down at a table. "You need to have some fun after you-know-who did you-know-what."

Wilson sighed. "This isn't the time. She _just_ left." He was avoiding looking at the stage.

"About time too. She was a whiney bitch," said House, eyes fixed on the very spot that Wilson's gaze was so determinedly avoiding. He snapped his fingers at a waitress. "Two scotches on the rocks."

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Back at the station, JJ and Hotch were just finishing tacking up pictures and information as Reid and Sandra walked into the room. All the victims were in the same age bracket- the youngest one was forty five and the oldest was fifty one.

They'd been deliberating for a while, as the rest of the team came in, about why the victims would have been targeted, but they had nothing in common besides the workplace. And the theories only got more and more abundant when the rest of the team showed up.

"Wait, what about religion?" asked Victoria.

"One was Methodist, two were Jewish and one was Catholic," said Garcia, "or so their census surveys said."

"I can't help but think that we're missing something really obvious..." said Sandra, drumming her fingers on her leg. She turned around sharply in her chair.

"Everything all right?" asked Morgan. "You've been a little jumpy lately."

"It was nothing," said Sandra dismissively, though she couldn't shake the nasty feeling that she was being watched; even though she couldn't shake it, she could still ignore it and leave it to fester in the back of her head. Hotch gave her a calculating stare.

They continued the discussion for a while longer; when it was clear that it would go no further, Hotch finally gave in. "All right, lets go to the hotel. We can start fresh in the morning."

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Everyone had gotten their keys, which were already at the front desk, thanks to Garcia. The team went in the elevator and rode it up to the third floor, everyone trying unsuccessfully to stifle yawns. Their rooms were clustered at the end of the hall. Just as Sandra keyed her door open and closed it, she set her bag down on the floor and prepared to go to bed. But before she could change into her pjs, there was a knock on her door. Sandra walked to it, puzzled. She looked through the peep hole and saw Hotch. She opened the door. "Has something happened?" Sandra stood to the side to let Hotch come in. He did and she closed the door.

"I was going to ask you the same question," he said. "Like Morgan said, you've been really jumpy lately. Now that I've thought about it, it's been going on for a long time."

"Has it?" Sandra crossed her arms.

"As far as I've seen, it's been happening since Agent Seaver died, and even a little before that."

Sandra held her pose, silently berating herself for not hiding it better.

"So I'll ask again- is everything all right?"

Sandra nodded. "I've just got that...feeling. Do you know what I mean?"

"A feeling like someone's watching you?"

"Something like that."

"How long would you say you've been feeling like that?" asked Hotch.

Sandra paused. "I don't know, sir."

"Abner, I need to know."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want this feeling to be dismissed and then have something happen to you." Hotch stared her down. "This team has seen enough tragedy in the past few years and we haven't had much cause for celebration. I don't want the team to suffer anymore." His answer caught Sandra off guard. "So you be on your guard, all right? Let me know if you see anything or feel anything similar, ok?"

Sandra nodded. "I don't think it's anything too bad."

"But there's always that chance," said Hotch.

Sandra smiled. "Reid could probably give us some statistic."

Hotch grinned. "He probably could." And the grin faded. "look, I sometimes felt that right before Foyet...did what he did. I don't to watch anything similar happen to the team." He paused. "Look, just watch out, all right? Promise me that."

Sandra nodded.

"My mom used to say that promises don't count unless you say them out loud," said Hotch, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I promise." Sandra smiled.

"Now we should both head to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Sandra nodded, and she walked Hotch to the door. "Good night, sir."

"Good night."

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The next day, they all came back to the police station and debated for a while longer about a possible motive. They had been sitting there for at least an hour when JJ's face lit up. "The only tie between the victims is their workplace, right?"

Morgan nodded. "We must have said that five times at least."

"Six times, by my count," said Reid, earning him an eye roll from Morgan, a smirk from Rossi and smiles from everyone else.

"Well, let's look deeper into their work place," said JJ.

"What do you mean?" asked Prentiss.

"What if it was more than the fact that they work at the same place? What if there was a motive from _inside_ the hospital?" asked JJ.

"You mean like if all the victims were being considered for a promotion-" began Sandra.

"And the Unsub didn't want any of them to get it!" finished JJ.

"All the victims were the heads of departments," said Prentiss. "And who works above the heads?"

"The Dean of Medicine," said Hotch. "Reid, you and Abner go to see Doctor Cuddy again. Fill her in on the latest development."

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"Oh, come on, Wilson! We have the day off. Let's go again today!" pleaded House.

Wilson sighed. "Do we really have the day off or did you do something?"

"Can't it be both?" asked House playfully. "Look, Cuddles gave us the day off, so I say we have a bit of fun. Let's do something epic all day."

"Like what?" asked Wilson, wearily.

"I say first we go see a movie, then we go bowling, then we eat," said House, counting off on his fingers. "Then we'll go to the gym and people watch, then we'll do something else, then we'll eat and then we'll go clubbing."

To House's surprise and manic delight, Wilson smiled. "Let's go."

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Sandra and Reid were once again sitting in Cuddy's office.

"Doctor Cuddy, are you leaving your position at the hospital?" asked Reid.

"I was considering it, yes," said Cuddy. "Is this relevant to your investigation?"

"We think so, ma'am," said Reid.

"Why could my career goals be of any importance to the killer?" asked Cuddy.

"Because we think that the Unsub wants one of your heads of department in your position," said Sandra, "or he could want you out of here."

"Who knows that you were thinking of leaving?" asked Reid.

"The board of trustees," said Cuddy, "my sister, my mother and I believe that's it."

Sandra and Reid exchanged significant looks as Reid's phone rang. "Excuse me for a minute." He picked it up. "Reid here." While Reid talked with the caller, Sandra turned back to Cuddy.

"I'm going to need a list of everyone who knows about your plans," she said.

"Do you think one of them could have anything to do with this?" asked Cuddy, as she pulled out a pen and paper.

"We just need to check out every lead, Doctor. We can't be too sure of anything," said Sandra. "And can I also have a list of every head of department on vacation right now?"

"Of course," said Cuddy, writing down names as she spoke. "Anything I can do to help."

Reid, meanwhile, had hung up. He motioned to Sandra, saying, "Please excuse us for a moment.", and they went just outside the door.

"What's wrong, Reid?" asked Sandra.

"They found another body," said Reid. "This time, there's no form of identification."

"So we need her to..." Sandra gestured at Cuddy's office.

Reid nodded.

"Oh no..."

"I know. Let's go tell her," said Reid.

Sandra nodded and they went back into her office.

"What's going on?" asked Cuddy.

"They found another body, and there wasn't any identification," said Reid.

"So we need your help," said Sandra.

Cuddy paled. "And you need me to..."

"We need you to identify the body," said Reid.

And her face lost what color it had left. "A-are you sure?"

"We're afraid so, Doctor," said Sandra. "We need to warn you though, this will most likely be a difficult process."

Cuddy nodded, apparently not trusting her voice for the moment. She grabbed her coat and purse. She cleared her throat. "Let's go." On their way out, they ran into Foreman.

"Cuddy, is everything all right?" asked Foreman.

"I need to leave for the day," said Cuddy, shaking her head. "So I need you to fill in for me for the rest of the day. Can you do that for me?"

Foreman nodded. "Sure."

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House decided to drag Wilson to a club earlier than they had planned on it (They'd only just had a late lunch. It was only three forty five). Naturally, the club wasn't too full, but there were still people there, enough so that House had a little difficulty negotiating his way around the floor. Eventually, they settled into seats at the bar, where the bartender quickly made her way over. "What can I get you both?"

"A couple of scotches," said House. "On the rocks."

"Coming right up, sugar," said the bartender.

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"Hotch, we have Doctor Cuddy with us. Are you at the crime scene?" asked Reid over the phone as Sandra drove.

"Yeah. Are you sure she can do this?" asked Hotch.

"Yes and no," said Reid.

"I see. So let me know if I have it," said Hotch. "She says she can do it, but you're not sure she can?"

"That's about it," said Reid.

"I wasn't done," said Hotch. "From what you and Abner have said, she sounds like a strong woman. Am I right?"

"You are, sir."

"Did she give you the list of people that know she's planning on leaving?"

"Yes, and other heads of departments that are on vacation," said Reid.

"Good work."

"Thank you."

"Garcia sent the directions to both-ah, but you're using them already," said Hotch.

"We'll be there in a few minutes," said Reid.

"See you here," said Hotch. They hung up.

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"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." -Marcus Aurelis

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NOTE: So how are the characterizations? Remember, any feedback is greatly appreciated.


	10. Go Left

NOTE: Ok, I had a thought. Would anyone like to have a little fun? If I get...say five or ten reviews, I'll pick one of the reviewers and they'd get to pick a subject for me to write about. So the challenge stands: out of the reviews I get, one reviewer will give me any prompt for a one shot! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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"There is a realist camp who above all would like to see order. On the other side, the idealists feel that the old regime is finished." -Thomas Carothers

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"Target number four has been eliminated. Now awaiting target number five."

"The heads of the pharmacy and anesthesiology are both new. Neither of them are ready for a promotion. I want him to be the Dean."

"Yes, sir. The current Dean has gotten the FBI involved."

"Will that be an issue?" asked the man sharply.

"No sir," said the other man. "She's no obstacle to me."

"Nor did I expect that she would. I want results."

"Yes sir."

"Now."

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Reid, Sandra and Cuddy had just pulled up to the crime scene and gotten out of the car. "Doctor Cuddy-" began Sandra.

"Lisa, please."

"Ok. Lisa, are you sure you can do this?" asked Sandra.

Cuddy took a deep breath and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "If it'll help catch this bastard, then yes. Anything for my hospital."

Sandra nodded. "Then let's go. This way." She pulled out her ringing phone. "Abner. Yes sir, we just got here. Ok." She hung up. "Hotch is sending Morgan out to meet us."

Reid and Cuddy both nodded, Cuddy looking pale. Morgan was there a second later. He beckoned to the trio and they followed him to the back of the house.

"Our victim was found in the backyard of this house this morning," said Morgan as they walked along through the hallway.

"By who?" asked Sandra.

"By a girl," said Morgan.

"When you said no form of identification, what did you mean?" asked Reid.

"I meant what I said. The id was there, and he was wearing the coat, but the picture and name had been scratched off and the name was cut out," said Morgan. "The body hasn't been moved at all."

"Where's the girl?" asked Cuddy, voice wavering.

"She's upstairs, Ma'am. Two of our agents are talking to her right now- JJ and Grey," said Morgan for Reid and Sandra's benefit. "The mother apparently died giving birth."

"How old is she?" asked Sandra.

"She's twelve, I think. I wasn't there when Hotch was talking to him," said Morgan. They'd reached the back door. "Are you ready for this?"

Cuddy steeled herself. _It's __not __like __I __haven't __seen __a __dead __body __before, _said Cuddy's rational side. _But __not __like __this, __and __you __know __it,_said her emotional side. She took a deep breath. "Let's go."

"Abner, can you check and see if Hotch or Rossi needs anything?" asked Morgan.

"Will do. Is he upstairs?" asked Sandra.

Morgan nodded. Sandra went upstairs as Morgan led Cuddy and Reid to the body. It was dumped unceremoniously on the ground, arms and legs sprawled on the ground as the poor doctor lay on his side. Cuddy knelt down next to his head and looked closely, growing more and more pale by the second. The bag was stretched quite tightly over the victim's face, making it a little difficult to identify him.

Cuddy's eyes moved to his hair, pressed flat against the plastic of the bag. It bore the distinct look of having been dyed- the black color was fading, and his roots were visibly gray. This, apparently, was enough for Cuddy to identify him. "This is Doctor David Haley. He is...was the head of the Department of Anesthesiology." She stood up. "There have been five victims. There were only seven doctors on vacation."

"Who are the last two?" asked Morgan.

"Doctor House and Doctor Wilson," said Cuddy.

"Do you know where they are?" asked Morgan.

"Not a clue," said Cuddy, shaking her head and taking another deep breath. "But they are extremely close. They're most likely together."

"Maybe we should take you back," said Sandra, who had just arrived.

"Good idea. Reid, Abner, you two take Doctor Cuddy home," said Morgan, already pulling out his phone.

"Do you think I could be in danger?" asked Cuddy.

"I'm not really sure. Until we catch this man, I suggest you stay somewhere else," said Morgan. "Do you have family in the area?"

"My sister lives an hour away and my mother's on vacation," said Cuddy. "And I would need to pick up my daughter from school. She gets out at two and she usually goes with her baby sitter."

"She'll be fine. This Unsub's target is only those who work at the hospital. Your daughter will be perfectly safe with her baby sitter," said Reid.

Cuddy nodded.

"Let's go then," said Sandra.

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The music was still loud. House had refused to leave the club, in a rare show of trying to be a good friend to Wilson. The two got another couple of scotches, and they sat back and enjoyed the show, House more so than Wilson.

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"Holla."

"Holla back. Hey playa, I need you to work me a little magic," said Morgan.

"Oh honey, magic is my specialty!"

"And that's why I called you, Sweetness. I need you to see if you can find a couple of people. We think they might be in danger."

"Tracking people is my other specialty. Gimme the names, and I'll find your guys. Hit me," said Garcia.

"I don't have their first names."

"Last names?"

"Of course. They both work at Princeton Plainsboro."

"I've got the employee list for PPTH. There's about five hundred names on here."

"They're doctors, no eliminate all nurses, security, EMTs and maintenance staff."

"Done. I've got sixty six names."

"Their last names are Wilson and House."

"Doctor James Wilson is the head of the Department of Oncology, and Doctor Gregory House is the director of Diagnostic Medicine. I'm going to track them with their credit cards or cell phones. Back in a flash."

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Reid, Sandra and Cuddy still had a few minutes to go before they arrived back at the hospital when something clicked.

Reid turned around. "Doctor Cuddy, does anyone have a grudge against you or the hospital?"

"You could say that," said Cuddy after a moment.

"Who?"

"Well, it's not really a grudge, but he doesn't like many of us on the board, or any of my heads of departments..."

"Who is it?" asked Reid.

"One of the main sources of funding for PPTH," said Cuddy. "Vogler...Edward Vogler."

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Garcia picked up the phone and dialed Morgan. "My chocolate god, I have dirt and I need to dish!"

"Ok, let me put you on speaker," replied Morgan, pressing the button. "Just behave."

"Aww honey, I feel like NC17 today!"

"I know, but there are kids present," said Morgan with a smile.

"Oh. Reid, leave!"

"What?" asked Reid. "I'm not a kid!"

Hotch cleared his throat.

"Ok, I have House and Wilson at a strip club." She gave the address. Hotch nodded to Rossi and JJ and they left.

"Garcia, we have a name for you," said Sandra.

"Shoot."

"Edward Vogler."

Pause. "What do you want to know? I've got his whole life at my finger tips."

"Try tracking financial records and phone records."

"I see that he's got two cell phones. The first one calls all different numbers with only a few that recur often. The other one is used very rarely, if at all. I went and checked both lines for the past year. The first line's use stayed about the same. The second one was used a lot more in the past year, specifically, the last two weeks. It's heavy use began-"

"Right before the first murder," said Prentiss.

"That is correct, mon ami! And it gets even weirder. All the calls on the second line were made to the same number!"

"Good work, Garcia. Can you identify the person Vogler was calling and track him to see where he is?" asked Hotch.

"Will do, Boss Man. I will return your call just as soon as the rabbit has multiplied."

They hung up.

"Have I ever asked to have her drug tested?" asked Hotch.

"At least ten or fifteen times, Hotch," said Prentiss with a laugh.

"By my reckoning, it's more like five or six," said Reid.

Prentiss lightly punch him on the arm. "I just can't win with you, can I?"

Reid smiled and shook his head, saying, "Not at all.", earning him smiles from the rest of the group.

The phone rang a few minutes later. Victoria picked it up and put the call on speaker. "You're on, Garcia."

"Why thank you, my knife-wielding Grey girl!" chirped Garcia.

Reid turned to Victoria. "You have a knife?"

Rolling her eyes, Victoria rolled up her sleeve to the elbow to reveal a sheathed combat knife. "I'm one of the agents who choose to have a knife as their sidearm. I figured that if my guns were ever taken, people wouldn't suspect that I was still armed."

"You have two guns?" asked Reid.

Rolling her eyes again, she stood on one foot and showed Reid her ankle holster. "Luckily, I've never needed to use my secondary gun. I've only needed to use the knife once."

"Now that's what I call paranoia," said Morgan jokingly. "Even Hotch and I only have two guns."

"Ok, moving on," said Hotch. "What have you got, Garcia?"

"I tracked down the person Vogler was calling so often. Surprisingly, it's not a woman, so we know he's faithful. But the man, yes a man, that he was calling also received a grand total of five thousand dollars the day after each murder."

"And?" prompted Victoria.

"Five grand also left Vogler's account on the days before each murder. I think he's a merc."

"It makes sense," said Abby, who had just walked in. "Hey Hotch, can I talk to you really quickly?"

"Of course," said Hotch, rising out of his chair. The two left the room.

"Garcia, can you track Vogler and his merc's current location?" asked Sandra.

"Why yes I can, m' dear," said Garcia. "Our merc, a Mister Adrian Davies, drives a black Honda Civic and is on the way to the club where Wilson and House are. And I got the results of the forensic report from the Plainsboro field office."

"What did they find?" asked Victoria.

"There was DNA found under the fourth victim's finger nails and on his face. It was a positive match to one Adrian Davies. I've just sent a few pictures to all your phones, one of Davies and one each of Wilson and House."

Victoria took her phone out to look at the picture, as did everyone else in the room. Adrian Davies looked...ordinary. Brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin...there were no identifiable facial features.

Hotch heard the whole thing. "To the SUVs!"

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Adrian was stuck in traffic. Vogler was waiting for the final result and it would not do to keep him waiting. The final murder would be the easiest by far- his target this time was one Gregory House. Vogler had a special sort of dislike for House and would probably want to see him in his final moments. He didn't really seem to loathe the other victims as much as House, though he wanted them out of Wilson's way, his path to becoming Dean. Adrian leaned his head on his fist and closed his eyes.

He was shaken out of his contemplative stupor as a car honked.

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There was too much traffic on the roads to arrive at the club in a timely manner. Rossi finally got fed up with it, and turned on the lights and siren. The cars seemed to just melt before them as they sped up.

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The rest of the team piled into two SUVs and drove away. Hotch turned to Sandra and told her to call Rossi and JJ.

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JJ's phone rang. "Yeah."

"Garcia just sent you three pictures, one of House and Wilson and one of our Unsub, Adrian Davies," said Sandra. "He's on his way to the club. Hotch says to get your lights and siren on if you don't have them on already, but to turn them off about three blocks away from the club."

"Got it," said JJ. She hung up and relayed the message.

They arrived at the club a few minutes later, Hotch and the rest of the team only three minutes away, according to the text message that JJ had just received.

"Shall we?" Rossi gestured to the door. They walked to it, already pulling out their ids. They approached the bouncer, eliciting annoyed groans and glares from the line. That is, until they saw the guns belted on their waists. "We're Agents Rossi and Jareau with the FBI. We need to get inside." The bouncer stood aside and let them in without a question.

The two of them looked around the club. It was pretty crowded in here...maybe it was a theme night. Rossi looked at JJ. "Go left."

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Unbeknownst to the two agents, Adrian Davies had just arrived. Right before they did, as a matter of fact. He had watched them enter the club and silently cursed to himself. There were only a few people ahead of him in line. He nudged his way to the front, causing annoyance and some laughs from his male line mates. The bouncer looked at the line. "Five." Adrian and four others went inside.

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The car that carried Hotch, Prentiss and Abby had just arrived. "We'll stay out here and see if we see Davies or House and Wilson," said Hotch. "Keep your eyes out. Prentiss, let the other car know to go into the club."

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Victoria picked up the phone. "Grey here."

"Hey, Hotch, Glazer and I are at the club. We'll stay outside to keep an eye on the entrance," said Prentiss.

"And he wants us to go inside, no?"

"He does indeed."

"Well he's in luck. We're pulling in now."

And indeed they were, lights and siren off, like Hotch had requested. Prentiss, Hotch and Glazer watched as Sandra calmly parked, the three emerge from the car and gain access to the club.

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Reid, Victoria and Sandra had already decided to keep their guns covered so they wouldn't cause any panic. They also decided to canvas the floor separately, and not to directly approach Wilson or House unless Davies got to them first. They made sure their wires worked, which they did, though they weren't if much use in this cacophony. So they'd text each other when one of their targets were spotted.

Reid was wishing he was anywhere else, and he tried not to show it. So instead of looking at the women who worked there, or thinking of Abby, he concentrated solely on finding House and Wilson before Davies did. He looked at his phone again, at the pictures of Davies, House and Wilson.

He took another look around the club, and spotted Wilson from a distance. The doctor was holding a couple of glasses and was walking back to a table near the middle of the floor. Reid whipped out his phone and typed out the message, "Found House and Wilson. They're at a table near the middle of the floor. I've got my eyes on them.", sent it to Victoria and Sandra and got a reply within a minute. He opened the message and read it. "Got it. Victoria and I have eyes on them. You look for Davies." Reid replied an affirmative, and continued to scour the club.

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Victoria edged her way over to Sandra. "Should we approach them?"

"I think we'd have better luck than Reid would," replied Sandra. "Though I don't think our clothes would send them the right signals."

Victoria glanced at their garb. Neither of them had on suit jackets, but they were still dressed very professionally, with buttoned up shirts and slacks. "I don't think it will. You might want to take your ring off though."

"I can see why, but no." Sandra's wedding ring was a simple design, a white gold band with a single diamond in the middle.

"Let me just let Reid and Hotch know what we're going to do," said Victoria sending the two men a quick message. She quickly got a reply from both; Hotch was in agreement, and Reid was as well, still looking for Davies.

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Davies located the two doctors just as quickly as the agents did. He didn't close in though. He could see two women approaching House and Wilson, who were dressed slightly too formally for their current location. _Why __are __they...crap._ He realized that they must be more federal agents.

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JJ and Rossi had not separated as they entered the club. They spotted Reid and headed over to him. "Hey Spence," said JJ, tapping him on the shoulder. Reid turned. "Where are Abner and Grey?"

"Approaching House and Wilson. I still haven't located Davies. Have you guys?"

"No luck here," said Rossi. "JJ and I stayed together, so we didn't have as much sight on the club as you three did."

Reid nodded and turned around to take a look for Davies. He squinted and spotted him three rows back. "Guys, I spotted him." He gestured with his chin and walked towards Davies.

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House looked up and gestured behind Wilson's head, where two women were approaching them. "Well hello there," he said as Sandra and Victoria arrived at their table.

"Gregory House and James Wilson?" asked Sandra.

"Yes. What can we do for you?" asked Wilson.

"You can come with us," said Victoria.

"What did we do?" asked Wilson.

"Nothing, but we believe you both are in danger," said Victoria.

"And why should we come with you?" asked House. "For all we know, you could be the ones trying to off us."

"Because we're federal agents," said Victoria, pulling out her credentials, Sandra mirroring her movements.

"Come on, House," said Wilson, rising out of his chair and clearly expecting House to do the same.

"Hey, I remember you," said House. "Where's Slim?"

"Who?" asked Victoria.

"Reid," said Sandra. "Now come on, you two."

House remained stubbornly in his seat. "Hmmm..." He looked up contemplatively at Sandra and Victoria, eyes drifting to below their necklines. He grinned roguishly.

"Not a chance, buddy. She's married and I'm engaged," said Victoria. "Now come on."

"That won't stop him from trying," said Wilson. "Believe me."

"All right, I'll go with you," said House. He rose slightly laboriously.

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Davies saw House and Wilson talk with the two agents, eventually rising and leaving with them. "Damn." He ran after the two men. He couldn't let Vogler down.

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As soon as Davies started running, JJ, Rossi and Reid sprinted after him. Victoria turned around and ran towards Davies, shoving people out of her way as she went. Once she got close enough, she lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. She flipped him around and read him his rights as she cuffed him.

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"So you got the guy?" asked Nicholas, over the phone.

"You bet," said Sandra.

"Are you gonna be back before Ashley's birthday?" asked Nicholas.

"Of course! You know I wouldn't miss it," said Sandra. "I've got to go. We're boarding right now."

"All right, call me when you land."

"I will. Love you," said Sandra.

"Love you too. Fly safely," said Nicholas.

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"Your life and mine shall be valued not by what we take, but by what we give." -Edgar Allen Poe

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NOTE: Wow, isn't this one a lot longer than usual? I like it though. And the challenge still stands! Review and someone will give me a prompt for a one shot. I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	11. Revulsion

NOTE: My apologies for the delay. I've had a lot of stuff going on right now. But I decided to power through and write this before my birthday on Friday! So happy birthday to me! *celebrate* Anyway. This one should be good. I hope you enjoy it!

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"In every conceivable manner, the family is our link to our past, bridge to our future." -Alex Haley

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"..happy birthday, dear Ashley, happy birthday to you!" The chorus of voices chanted as the now two year old Ashley Abner blew out her candles. When the two flames were extinguished, the assembled family members cheered.

Nicholas put down his video camera and started cutting his homemade creation, a work of art, really. Two layers of chocolate cake, with fudge in the middle, and chocolate frosting with roses made of frosting. Sandra's mouth was watering just looking at it. He distributed pieces to all the guests, and they all started eating it. It was just as delicious as it looked.

Sandra looked around at all the assembled guests, both Nicholas' mom and sisters, Sandra's parents and brothers, a few of Ashley's classmates and their parents, and smiled. It had been a great day. Spencer had been by a while ago to do some "physics magic" for the kids. They loved it. So had the parents, come to think of it. Sadly though, Spencer had to go early- something about a phone call he'd received from Abby after his show was over.

_Hopefully, they're all right..._ Sandra thought, munching on her slice of cake. _Yum, this is good!_

Like her mother, Ashley had a soft spot for chocolate. When asked what kind of cake she wanted, Ashley had simply grinned, exclaiming, "Coco!"

Sandra and Nicholas had had a minorly heated discussion over the ornate-ness of Ashley's cake. It was a stupid one, now that Sandra thought back to it. Something about "It's only her second birthday! We don't need a fancy cake!" and "But it's a great time to try out my new recipe!". Sandra had relented though, because she wanted to try it as much as Nicholas wanted to make it.

He sidled up to her from behind, and whispered huskily in her ear, "How is it?"

It sent shivers down her spine as he did. He knew it too. He grinned coyly and bit Sandra gently on the ear. She hit him away halfheartedly. "Stooooop it! There are children present!"

"So we can go upstairs!"

"But they need us down here!" It was almost useless to resist his charms. She walked (stumbled) away, turning her head around to face him, and walking right into her mother as she did so. "I'm sorry, Mom!"

Joanne Abner, a sixty six year old writer, had recognized the signs just from Nicholas' voice. "You know, if you need to go upstairs, Patrick, Anna and I can handle things here."

Nicholas smiled. "Thank you, Joanne!" He picked Sandra up, and walked away, up the stairs. Joanne smiled knowingly at the passing couple. "You're quite welcome."

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Sandra woke up later. She glanced at the clock. It was about nine in the evening. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Seeing that she was still wearing her clothes, sweat pants and a t-shirt, Sandra got out of bed and padded downstairs. The living room was almost empty. It's only occupants were family. Ashley was there, dozing on the couch, next to Aaron, resting his head in Nicholas' lap. Joanne and Patrick were sitting on the couch, next to Renee and Sadie (Nicholas' sisters). Nick and Will, Sandra's brothers, were on some chairs and Anna, Nicholas' mother, was in the kitchen, fixing some tea for everyone.

"You know, they work you too hard in Quantico, Sandy," said Will.

Sandra groaned. "Will, how many times must I ask you not to call me that?"

"At least once more, as always," laughed Will.

"And how many times will you two quote that god forsaken movie?" groaned Nick. "The rest of us are sick of it!"

"Speak for yourself," said Anna. "I happen to enjoy _Pirates. _Ooh, that Johnny Depp!"

"I dunno, Mum. I think Orlando Bloom rocks the pirate look better!" said Renee.

"What about this?" said Sadie. "We agree they're both good looking pirates and leave it!"

The three female Brits laughed. "Agreed."

"And anyway, aren't you engaged, Sadie?" asked Nick.

"No, but I know Andrew's going to ask soon. I saw the ring in his bag before we flew out," she replied.

"So how're things at the firm?" asked Joanne.

"Good. We're getting a lot of business from Pippa Middleton, actually. She hired a team of lawyers because the paparazzi are driving her insane. Can't say I blame her, but then again, if your sister marries the prince, you've got to expect to share some of the spot light," said Anna. "I'm actually on the team she hired. There are four of us."

Ashley stirred in her sleep. Aaron turned and fell off the couch. He rubbed his elbow grumpily.

"I'll go put the two of them to bed," said Anna, picking Ashley up. "Aaron, come with me." The six year old obediently followed his grandmother upstairs.

Sandra randomly felt a jolt and turned around to face the yard. The movement was impossible to miss.

"Is everything all right?" asked Nicholas, concerned.

Sandra sat down again, head still turned. She tried to shake the feeling. "Yeah. Yeah, it's fine," sounding much more certain than she felt.

Sandra was spared the need to say anything more as Anna came back down the stairs. "They're both fast asleep, little dears."

"Oh good," said Sandra, rising. "Why don't we get some wine?"

"Let me help you with that," said Nicholas, also rising.

They went into the kitchen, searching for some glasses and some good wine, not the kind Nicholas liked to cook with. In a low voice, he asked, "Seriously, is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine, Nicholas."

"You don't need to be a profiler to see that something's bothering you."

Sandra sighed. "Am I that obvious?"

Nicholas' look said it all.

"We'll talk later, ok? When everyone's gone."

"You know that'll be hard. Mum's staying here with Renee and Sadie." They gathered the glasses in their hands. Nicholas grabbed the wine.

"Where are they sleeping anyway? We've only got one guest room," said Sandra, turning off the lights with her elbow.

"Mum has the bed room, Sadie and Renee have the couch, remember?"

"Right, I totally knew that," said Sandra. They set the glasses down on the table and poured the wine. Sandra's phone rang. "Hang on a sec." She picked it up. "Abner." She listened for a while. "Yeah, ok. Got it. See you." She hung up. "I have to go in early tomorrow, so I'm going to head to bed now."

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The next morning was Monday. Knowing Sandra had to go in to work a little earlier today, at seven thirty as opposed to eight, Nicholas got up a little earlier to make her a good breakfast with the family- her favorite, chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and eggs with her favorite coffee.

She woke up at her usual six, showered and was dressed by six twenty. She came downstairs, to find Sadie, Renee and Anna already at the table, Nicholas standing at the stove.

"Morning everyone," said Sandra, kissing Nicholas.

"So why do you have to go in earlier?" asked Anna.

"I'm not sure. My supervisor asked the whole team to, and he hasn't done that in a while. Not since Ashley Seaver died, anyway."

"Who's that?" asked Sadie.

"A former teammate. She'd only been a full agent for about three months," said Sandra.

"So he calls you in when there's something serious going on?" asked Renee.

Nicholas sat a plate and cup in front of Sandra. "Eat up."

She did, eating with gusto. "Yeah. And from the call I got last night, it sounds really serious."

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And indeed it was. When Sandra got to the BAU a little before she needed to be there, Hotch pointed everyone to the conference room. Sandra dropped her bag off at her desk and hurried over. She sat down and Hotch gave Garcia the green light to start the briefing.

"Some pretty serious shit is going down. San Francisco has requested our help," began Garcia. She cringed as she put up the crime scene photos.

Everyone present showed some form of revulsion. Sandra was close to throwing up, but tried not to show it.

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"The mark of our time is its revulsion against imposed patterns." –Marshall McLuhan

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NOTE: I know it's been a while, but I'm looking forward to writing the next chapters!


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